NEPAL: UNMIN POLITICAL ADVISER SAYS COMBATANT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 001298 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/03/2017 TAGS: PGOV PTER MARR UN NP SUBJECT: NEPAL: UNMIN POLITICAL ADVISER SAYS COMBATANT VERIFICATION ON HOLD Classified By: Ambassador James F. Moriarty. Reasons 1.4 (b/d) Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) On July 1, UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) political adviser John Norris informed Emboff that Maoist chief Pushpa Dahal had suspended further verification of Maoist combatants after receiving the results of UNMIN's review of members of the Maoist "1st Division." Dahal had asked for a delay until at least his return from an overseas trip. Norris hoped that the Nepali Government and the Maoists would take advantage of the extra time to work out the details of discharging and paying those camp residents whom UNMIN had disqualified. Although there is considerable press speculation, UNMIN has yet to release statistics on how many members of the "1st Division" were disqualified and why. UNMIN military adviser Gen. Wilhemsen assured the outgoing and incoming Defense Attaches June 28 that he would resign if the Maoists did not permit him to conduct a proper verification process. Maoists Suspend Combatant Verification -------------- ¶2. (C) United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) political adviser John Norris told Emboff July 1 that the process of verifying Maoist combatants (the so-called "second phase") was on hold for the time being. He explained that UNMIN had provided the results of UNMIN's verification of members of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) "1st Division" cantonment in Chulachili in eastern Nepal to Maoist chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal (alias Prachanda) on June 30. Norris noted that UNMIN had passed the same information simultaneously to Prime Minister Koirala's Nepali Congress party. Dahal had asked that further verification be suspended -- at least until his return from a Socialist International conference in Switzerland. According to press reports, the Maoist chief departed Kathmandu late June 30. Norris stated that he expected Dahal to return after a week. Discharge of Noncombatants Still To Be Worked Out -------------- -------------- ¶3. (C) Norris expressed his disappointment about the Maoist decision. He stressed that UNMIN was ready and eager to proceed with combatant verification of the remaining six PLA "divisions." The UNMIN political adviser noted that UNMIN had planned to begin work immediately at the PLA "2nd Division" camp. The one advantage he saw to the delay was that it would give the Government of Nepal (GON) and the Maoists time to agree on how to go about discharging those camp residents who had been found to be underage or new recruits or otherwise unqualified. He ventured that, until the GON and the Maoists clarified how and when those discharged would be paid, none of them would be willing to leave. Norris concurred with Emboff that it was incumbent on the Maoists to spell out how the first month's pay would be handled since the Finance Ministry had already given that money to Maoist Minister of Information Mahara. The UNMIN political adviser stated that he understood Mahara had given the money to the respective camp commanders, but he confessed he did not know what had happened to it afterward. Mixed Reports on Results, Much Confusion -------------- ¶4. (U) Press reports with the alleged results of UNMIN's verification of the 3,000-plus members in the PLA's "1st Division" started appearing on June 27, the day after the process concluded. Various reports alleged that UNMIN had disqualified some 400 people who were under 18, recruited after the cease-fire in May 2006, or disabled. One Nepali daily quoted a deputy PLA commander, Baldev, saying June 30 that it might be ten days before the process of verification resumed. On July 1, UNMIN's press spokesman Kieran Dwyer responded to the media, denying the veracity of these reports. He went on to say that UNMIN would "make figures KATHMANDU 00001298 002 OF 002 public, but not at this stage, pending further discussions with the Maoist leadership." UNMIN Military Adviser Privately Affirms Tough Line -------------- -------------- ¶5. (C) On June 28, UNMIN military advisor Brigadier General Jan Erik Wilhemsen confided to the outgoing and incoming Defense Attaches that the Maoists were not happy with UNMIN's tough approach to verification and wanted to discuss terms for continuing the process. He stressed he would resign if he was not permitted to do his job. Wilhemsen reported that UMIN had examined 2,800 "combatants" out of an original 3,300 counted at the "1st Division" camp during phase one. The UN had immediately disqualified the 400 no-shows. When asked where they were, the local PLA commander had responded: "they left the camps." Comment -------------- ¶6. (C) Post can appreciate UNMIN's desire to keep the second phase of arms management on track. UNMIN's strategy of not yet disclosing the results of its review of Maoist "1st Division" members no doubt reduces its immediate tensions with the Maoists, but the fundamental issue cannot be so easily avoided. If UNMIN is implementing the process of verification "thoroughly and professionally," as its spokesman assured the press and public on July 1 it had been doing, it is going to disqualify significant numbers of Maoists. The Maoists are going to be unhappy, very unhappy. Ultimately, if UNMIN holds firm, the Maoists are going to have to accept the results or suspend the process indefinitely. MORIARTY